FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C. June 16, 2021 The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the U.S. CULCON Panel are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Trevor A. Dawes, Ms. M. Diana Helweg Newton, and Ms. Shay Youngblood to serve as commissioners and panelists. JUSFC and CULCON are delighted to welcome these new commissioners/panelists at this important time for the world, and for U.S.-Japan relations.
Since its establishment, JUSFC has made a vital contribution to the promotion of peace, prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific and in the world, and in supporting the U.S.-Japan Alliance. JUSFC is committed to strengthening the vital strategic and economic partnership between Japan and the United State and nurturing a next generation of diverse leaders at all levels of society: In the past nearly 45 years, JUSFC has awarded institutional grants that have enhanced the Japan Studies field in the United States at all levels, from classroom instruction to access to resources, and student and teacher exchange programs. By supporting American studies in Japan, bilateral artists exchanges, policy dialogues, legislative exchanges, and student mobility, JUSFC has made a significant contribution to developing leaders in all sectors of society, including U.S. and Japanese political institutions, private sector commerce, education and cultural institutions and civil society organizations.
Created in 1961, CULCON is a binational advisory committee that meets biannually in alternating years between Japan and the United States. The U.S. CULCON is a high-level, proactive organization that emphasizes the implementation of recommendations, and creates important interventions in the area of U.S.-Japan educational and cultural exchange. The new commissioners/panelists will make a significant contribution to the work of JUSFC and CULCON by bringing a breadth of proficiency from policymaking to library science to the arts, not just representing a wide range of professional expertise, but also the diversity of the United States.
JUSFC Chair Dr. Sheila A. Smith said, “The U.S.-Japan partnership remains as strong as ever as we navigate this extraordinary time. Despite the ban on travel during the pandemic, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and CULCON remain committed deepening ties between our two countries, using new technologies and platforms to connect with our friends and colleagues across the Pacific. As we begin to imagine reuniting in-person once again, I am particularly delighted to welcome three new JUSFC commissioners and CULCON panelists whose remarkable talent and experience will energize our ability to bring Americans and Japanese together to learn from each other and to solve problems together.”
Paige Cottingham-Streater, JUSFC’s Executive Director welcomed the new commissioners. “I am delighted to welcome our three new commissioners and CULCON panelists, who are beginning their service at an important time for the world, and for U.S.-Japan relations. Their individual and collective expertise will be invaluable to the work of JUSFC and CULCON.”
About the Commissioners/Panelists
Mr. Trevor A. Dawes is an academic librarian, an educator and consultant. He has worked in the academic library sector for over 20 years developing and providing a range of service-enhancing training and professional development opportunities that positively impact library-wide projects and programs. Mr. Dawes also facilitates workshops on leadership development and diversity, improving the knowledge, skills, competencies, and abilities of librarians and library workers. A published author and presenter, he has written or edited books, book chapters, and articles, and presented on a variety of topics at local, national, and international conferences. Among his publications are book chapters on leadership in academic libraries, diversity, and organizational development. Mr. Dawes received his Ed.M. in Educational Leadership from Teachers College at Columbia University and his Masters of Library Science from Rutgers University. He earned his Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Teachers College at Columbia University and his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Columbia University. He was a 2008 Frye Fellow, and participated in the UCLA Senior Fellows program in 2014.
Ms. Diana Helweg Newton is the Director of the Tower Scholars Program and Senior Fellow at the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies, where she lectures in the Public Policy and International Affairs minor at Southern Methodist University (SMU). She has also taught at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin, and was an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York City, and a Hitachi International Affairs Fellow at the Japan Center for International Exchange in Tokyo. Prior to working at CFR, she served as the Executive Assistant to the Deputy National Security Advisor at the National Security Council, and as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs at the Department of State. She began her legal career at Morrison & Foerster in Washington, DC and practiced law in the Office of the Legal Advisor at the Department. She currently serves on the boards of Deerfield Academy, the International Center for Transitional Justice, the Hitachi IAF Selection Committee, and the National Program Committee at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a graduate of Yale University and Boston University School of Law.
Ms. Shay Youngblood is author of the novels Black Girl in Paris and Soul Kiss (Riverhead Books) and a collection of short fiction, The Big Mama Stories (Firebrand Books). Her published plays Amazing Grace, Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery and Talking Bones, (Dramatic Publishing Company), have been widely produced. Her other plays include Square Blues, Black Power Barbie and Communism Killed My Dog. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including a Pushcart Prize for fiction, a Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, an Edward Albee honoree, several NAACP Theater Awards, an Astraea Writers’ Award for fiction and a 2004 New York Foundation for the Arts Sustained Achievement Award. Ms. Youngblood received her MFA in Creative Writing from Brown University and has taught Creative Writing to faculty and graduate students at NYU and has been Visiting Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi and Texas A&M Universities. In 2011 she was awarded the JUSFC Creative Artist Fellowship for a residency in Japan.
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